Microsoft promised a Gamescom presser on par with E3 when it held back titles like Crackdown and it seems that’s what we’re going to get. Xbox division boss Phil Spencer revealed on Twitter that Microsoft will be showcasing footage from the upcoming Crackdown (which debuted at E3 2014).

“Final Gamescom content review was today and things are becoming final. Lot’s of nostalgia for me with the Crackdown gameplay.”

Taking place on August 4th, Microsoft will also showcase Platinum Games’ Scalebound and Remedy Games’ Quantum Break. Both are quite interesting since we haven’t seen any gameplay footage for the former and require more information on the latter. Given that Sony will be skipping Gamescom this year, the time is as good as any for Microsoft to make a strong impression.

Gamescom 2015 starts on August 5th and ends on August 9th. Electronic Arts and Blizzard Entertainment will also be holding pressers so stay tuned for all the announcements.

The game is due out later this year, and people are understandably antsy to see more of it. Microsoft and Insomniac offered a pretty good look at the game to us at Microsoft’s E3 presser back in June in L.A., but now we get to see more of it. Specifically, this newest video shows us the full extent of character customization available in game.

Sunset Overdrive is due out only on Xbox One later this year. It is Insomniac’s latest (and most promising) title after a string of flops, that included attempted new IP with EA, Fuse, and a series of disappointing Ratchet and Clank games- including All 4 One, Full Frontal Assault, and Into The Nexus.

Stay tuned for more coverage.

Microsoft’s success in Japan with regards to its Xbox consoles has been – for lack of a better word – embarrassing. Despite its massive success in North America, the Xbox 360 failed to find any takers in the PS3-dominated territory. However, with the PlayStation 4 seeing such a slow start, many believe this could be Microsoft’s time to shine when the Xbox One launches this September in Japan.

Xbox head Phil Spencer responded to the idea that Microsoft could conquer Japan with the Xbox One following dismal sales of the PS4 and said that, “We will be in Japan in September. Japan hasn’t always been the easiest market for us, will be good to launch and be at TGS.”

So while the competition hasn’t been doing great, Spencer isn’t kidding any one when he says it will be a hard task for the Xbox One. The Xbox One will be out on September 6th with 29 launch titles including Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes, Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate, Crimson Dragon and Dead Rising 3.

There’s not much we know about the new Gears of War title after Epic Games sold the IP to Microsoft Games Studios. Aside from the fact that it will be developed by Black Tusk Studios and feature some new gameplay mechanics, Microsoft has been rather secretive about what’s going on with the next game.

But even if it’s a brand new story with a new cast of characters, that doesn’t mean some series favourites won’t return. Lester Speight, who voiced Cole Train throughout the series, tweeted about contacted to play the man again.

“@MistaPeerez: @lesterspeight have you gotten a call about a new gears? You have to reprise your role! #whoobaby’ Yup!”

This isn’t confirmation as such, but it would be great if Black Tusk brought back one of the fan-favourite characters of the series to the fray. What are your thoughts on Cole Train making a return? Let us know in the comments below.

Microsoft will be selling a Kinect-less version of the Xbox One for $399 from June 9th onwards, satiating many a gamer’s demand for a price drop (along with angering many an early adopter). In conversation with OXM during a preview event in London, Microsoft European Studios chief Phil Harrison talked about how this decision will ultimately result in developers making more games for the Xbox One.

“Last week we made a very significant announcement about giving gamers a choice, a choice about how they want to enter the Xbox One ecosystem, by offering them a version of Xbox One both with and without Kinect.

“And fundamentally that is good for opening up the Xbox One ecosystem – the more consumers who buy Xbox One, it’s a virtuous cycle for more developers to make and more consumers to play games, and that is what we’re committed to achieving and continuing.

“But we remain committed to Kinect as the premium way to experience the Xbox One vision. Over 80 per cent of Kinect Xbox Ones are active, over 120 voice commands are issued per day on average by all users of the console, so when you have this premium experience that is where the Xbox One comes alive.”

Kinect has already been announced to retail separately for the console this Autumn, though pricing details are yet to be revealed. Stay tuned for Microsoft’s E3 media briefing on June 9th for more information.

Microsoft and 343 Industries recently revealed Halo 5: Guardians for the Xbox One and stated that there would be more details at E3 besides teasing “special plans”. This doesn’t mean this is the end of big-name E3 announcements though as Head of the Xbox Division Phil Spencer stated on Twitter.

“There are a few things coming prior to E3. Show is getting set so easier to see what we want to talk about prior.”

He also said that revealing some things early allows them to focus on other things at E3. “Yea, wanted to make the show entertaining. Some special things I want to show so needed to do some things early.”

That includes – for better or worse – some Kinect titles. “You will see new Kinect games and work from platform on Kinect.” So if you thought that de-coupling the Xbox One from Kinect meant Microsoft would let it quietly die, you’ve got another thing coming.

Finally, Spencer revealed that “The lineup at E3 looks good. A couple of things we are still trying to land but it’s coming together.” That last part is interesting because it could imply some third party dealings. Could this possibly tie into Crytek’s rumoured reveal of Ryse: Son of Rome 2?

We’ll find out on June 9th when Microsoft’s E3 media briefing takes place so stay tuned.

Xbox head and Microsoft Games Studios corporate VP Phil Spencer shared some interesting new snippets of information on Twitter and revealed that Microsoft is gearing up for E3.

In a series of tweets, he stated, “Its going to be Huge, important show for us” and “Bringing more than hype, bringing games.” He also stated that he is “More excited than nervous. The Xbox team is working hard to make the show great.”

We may also get to hear about Undead Labs’ State of Decay MMO for the Xbox One in the coming months. Spencer stated, “SoD is important to us. @undeadlabs has a good plan for the franchise and it’s bigger than a DLC expansion.” Considering the first game was one of the more successful Xbox 360 titles that released near the tail end of the console’s life cycle, we’re interested to see what’s next.

For the on-going console war, Spencer also stated that Microsoft is “Definitely in to win. We need to do more, that’s 100% of my focus.”

What will happen when E3 rolls around? Stay tuned for more information.

Ahead of Microsoft’s E3 2014 press conference where the company promises to showcase more games and less executives this year, a new game has been filed on April 9th at the United States Patent & Trademark Office.

Titled “Screamride”, the game has been classified as an “online computer game” and while it’s not like it would come to the Xbox One – or is currently being actively developed – it’s still a new development for Microsoft. Other trademarks issued by Microsoft lately include “Snap Attack” and “Secrets and Treasure.” Time will tell when Microsoft officially announces these games, though E3 2014 wouldn’t be a very bad time to do so.

Other games that may be showing up at E3 2014 for Microsoft’s conference include Sledgehammer Games’ Call of Duty title, Halo 5, Sunset Overdrive, Quantum Break and much more. Will Screamride make an appearance? Which games are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below.

When one looks back and thinks about the first Gears of War, it’s amazing to forget how much the game innovated.

It changed the way we looked at third person shooters. No longer were you zipping around levels, playing third person platformer while dealing with enemies. Now you were meandering around, dealing with your own bulky weight and dying out in the open. It was for this purpose that developer Epic Games decided to mimic “real warfare” and have you rely primarily on cover. The rules were simple: Find cover or die trying.

"It wasn’t its mechanics that made Gears of War innovative or outright amazing but they helped bring its essence to the forefront of gamers’ minds."

But that’s not all. Gears of War also introduced the Active Reload, which had you carefully timing your button presses to properly reload. A wrong reload caused your gun to jam. A proper reload saw you ready your weapon that much faster and a true Active Reload meant the next few bullets (or potentially the whole clip) received a damage boost. In the midst of finding covering, struggling to reload and mowing down foes that were extremely dangerous even in pairs; Gears of War delivered a palpable, hellish experience that had you on the edge of your seat.

Of course, the main mind behind Gears of War, Cliff Bleszinski, didn’t stop there. The game’s intensity was further enhanced by a near-lethal injection of violence, post-apocalyptic genocide and outright brutality. Chainsaws attached to assault rifles chopped Locust to pieces. You could brutally execute enemies on the ground or gib them into several pieces using explosives, perhaps best exemplified by the Hammer of Dawn’s concentrated laser from heaven.

Mix in some water-cooler moments inspired by Resident Evil 4 – the encounter with the Brumak, the first fight with the Berserker, laying siege to Locust barracks, fighting off General RAAM on a train, navigating the brutal darkness as enemy Kryll waited till all was dark – and Gears of War for its time was one of the craziest and most outright insane shooters out there. And that’s not even counting its biggest contribution to cooperative multiplayer with Horde Mode.

It wasn’t its mechanics that made Gears of War innovative or outright amazing but they helped bring its essence to the forefront of gamers’ minds. Even as Gears of War 2 and 3 shifted the focus towards more cover-based shooting and narrative-focused murder respectively, the action shooter’s many layers left us wanting for more.

"This is the main obstacle that lies before Gears of War 4. In attempting to keep the game firmly entrenched in Locust-massacring territory, Judgment acted as a prequel but Gears 4 can’t bury its head in the sands of time."

Which brings us to Gears of War 4 and reminds us of Gears of War: Judgment, another game in the series that wasn’t developed by Epic Games (it was actually handled by Bulletstorm developer People Can Fly). Judgment took the traditional Gears of War experience and attempted to add its own hooks. You can choose tougher variants of missions. The enemy count was significantly higher.

Newer weapons were added along with newer enemy varieties. Horde Mode had been incorporated into the single-player campaign while Survival took a more class-based, defense-focused objective. All in all, it was a solid Gears of War experience but did it really offer much distinction between “hook” and “innovation”?

This is the main obstacle that lies before Gears of War 4. In attempting to keep the game firmly entrenched in Locust-massacring territory, Judgment acted as a prequel but Gears 4 can’t bury its head in the sands of time. It needs to make a solid effort at moving forward.

So why not set the game several decades or even centuries after the first? The Locust Horde itself resulted from early human Lambents and their mutated genes being passed down to their children. The Horde then found itself torn between fighting the divergent Lambents and being pushed towards Sera’s surface to establish its own home. The Locust formed the basis for a lot of Gears of Wars’ gameplay – would it be a cop out to bring them back again? It would, if they suddenly just reappeared in full force. So why not a slow evolutionary return, entrenched in the annals of human corruption and conspiracy that finally sees them make their triumphant return by game’s end?

"With regards to the game’s mechanics, it makes sense to incorporate some form of linear mission progression intermixed with the ability to race around a giant set piece and murder enemies."

The only problem with this route would be the placebo enemies that the player would need to cut down throughout the game. This isn’t Gears of War without insane cover-based warfare and the Lambent reappearing would just be a similar dilemma. So why not have a cult built around the Locust, one that worships the teachings of Skorge and swears by Queen Meera in the middle of another civil war between the various factions of humanity?

The cult could slowly swell in power before declaring open war as their attempts to bring back the Locust come to fruition. This serves to paint the Locust in a new political light – that of an alternate solution befitting of humanity’s current state but one steeped in past horrors.

With regards to the game’s mechanics, it makes sense to incorporate some form of linear mission progression intermixed with the ability to race around a giant set piece and murder enemies. It would be akin to Halo’s open air battles which promised multiple approaches, vehicles and tactics towards successfully killing enemies.

We’ve seen hints of such open air areas in the Gears of franchise but within a tighter area – and without the feeling of “Go there and do this thing before doubling back and doing the other thing” – it could help lend that urgency of war without compromising on the in-your-face intensity that the series if known for.

"However, the one thing that Black Tusk Studios shouldn't compromise on with Gears of War 4 is the series’ spirit. It’s about killing. It’s about staying alive and it’s about being a bad-ass about it."

Active Reload shouldn’t be scrapped but it should be built. Deliver damage multipliers for successive Active Reloads. Send out enemies that can only be taken down in this fashion or at least structure certain difficulties in such a way that these multipliers will be necessary. Allow gamers to customize their load outs at the beginning of each mission along with different Perks and Abilities. Give them different equipment to further distinguish themselves from their friends and have these character load outs carry over into multiplayer/co-op.

Most importantly, Gears of War 4 should incorporate some form of persistent multiplayer. Have up to 16 players fighting together in the campaign, turning the exercise into one gigantic Horde campaign, and throw in those same open air missions for some additional carnage. There is so much that could be done with the next game in the series that it’s plain crazy to think about.

However, the one thing that Black Tusk Studios shouldn’t compromise on with Gears of War 4 is the series’ spirit. It’s about killing. It’s about staying alive and it’s about being a bad-ass about it. Plot, characterization, dialogue wheels, sandbox elements and whatnot are some nice hooks but at the end of the day, it’s about chain sawing an enemy to bits for the 1000^th time and still feeling like it means something.

The next Gears of War may be a long way off but the series is apparently in good hands with Black Tusk Studios. According to Microsoft Games Studios’ Ken Lobb, who worked on Killer Instinct, Gears of War on the Xbox One will be quite innovative.

“I actually have tons of respect for Chuck [Osieja, creative director] and all the guys up at Black Tusk. I think the reality is what we have is innovative Gears Of War. That’s what I believe they’re going to make.

“They’re an internal studio, but the reality is it’s cool to have [an IP] that can be a grand slam right out of the gate. The concepts they’ve been toying with are awesome. You take what they were thinking about and their expertise on Unreal Engine 4, because that’s what they’ve been playing with since their founding, and really go with the IP.

“Again, this was a mutually agreed thing. It’s not, ‘Here’s this thing you must take.’ That’s not the way Phil [Spencer] works; that’s not the way we work.”

The game is still a long way off so there’s still plenty of time to reserve one’s judgment. Stay tuned for more information as the months progress.

(Source)